What are you Eating- Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet)

When you grab the little blue packet of Equal or the peppermint swirl packaging that tells you that NutraSweet sweetens this food or beverage, you may feel good about counting calories.

But SanTan Natural Medicine wants you to know that aspartame is considered one of the most controversial of nonnutritive sweeteners.

H.J. Roberts, MD, coined the term "aspartame disease" in a book filled with more than 1,000 pages about the negative health consequences of consuming aspartame.

FDA Complaints

By 1998, aspartame products were the cause of 80 percent of the complaints to the FDA about food additives, Dr. Roberts reported.

People complained of:

• headache

• dizziness

• change in mood

• vomiting or nausea

• abdominal pain and cramps

• change in vision

• diarrhea

• seizures/convulsions

• memory loss

• and fatigue

Aspartame and Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Along with the FDA complaints, the consumption of aspartame has been linked to fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in the legs, cramps, tinnitus, joint pain, unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus, and various cancers.

Sugar adds calories, which can lead to weight gain. Artificial sweeteners, are foreign to the body and just like many prescription medications, are hard on the liver. When the liver is busy processing these chemicals, it is not able to process as efficiently and eliminate fat.

As a result, using zero calorie sweeteners may actually contribute to weight gain. Confused? Call the professionals at SanTan Natural Medicine for a healthy weight loss consultation.

Here are additional SanTan articles on nutrition that may interest you:

Vegetables the Contain the Most & Least Amount of Pesticides

Fruits the Contain the Most & Least Amount of Pesticides